Amy Sedaris
| birth_place = Endicott, New York, U.S. | residence = Greenwich Village, New York, U.S. |home_town = Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. | occupation = | years active = 1990–present | relatives = David Sedaris (brother) }}Amy Louise Sedaris ( ; , retrieved 2012-02-28. She pronounces her name at the very beginning. born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is the creator and star of her show At Home with Amy Sedaris on truTV, in which she plays various characters and focuses on her love of crafts. She voices the character Princess Carolyn in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman. Her breakout role was Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Her older brother is author David Sedaris. Early life Sedaris was born in Endicott, New York to Sharon Elizabeth (née Leonard) and Louis Harry "Lou" Sedaris, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her five siblings. Her father is of Greek descent and her mother was an Anglo-American.Stated on Finding Your Roots, PBS, November 18, 2014 Her family was Greek Orthodox . As a teenager, Sedaris worked at her local Winn-Dixie supermarket. She would make fake announcements over the loudspeaker, and the head cashier would threaten to fire her. After work, she egged the cashier's car in protest. Later, as a cocktail waitress at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago, Illinois, she was fired for being five minutes late. In retaliation, "I took manager's keys, and I threw them in the snow. I heard he found them in the spring." In David Sedaris' book Me Talk Pretty One Day, he noted that Amy would often assume characters to play pranks on her family. Career Television A former member of Chicago-based Second City and Annoyance Theatre comedy troupes, Sedaris' first major foray into television began in 1995 on the Comedy Central sketch show, Exit 57, which also starred Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello. The show ran for one season. Beginning in 1999, Sedaris played Jerri Blank, a middle-aged high school student, in the Comedy Central series Strangers with Candy. The show, which she co-wrote with Dinello and Colbert, was based on Sedaris's impression of 1970s-era motivational speaker Florrie Fisher. The show ran for three seasons and became a full-length movie. Sedaris has made numerous guest appearances on TV programs, including Rescue Me, Monk, Wonder Showzen, Just Shoot Me!, Sex and the City, My Name Is Earl, The Closer, The Middle, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Raising Hope, and Sesame Street. She also hosted the series Film Fanatic on Trio. Her talk show appearances include Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and WTF with Marc Maron. Her performance on Chelsea Lately entailed giving host Chelsea Handler a presentation on vaginal hygiene, using a plush vagina created by fashion designer Todd Oldham. .]] In 2007, Sedaris was featured in Dolly Parton's first mainstream country music video in 14 years, "Better Get to Livin' . In early 2010, she was a supporting character in the Canadian comedy series The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour."The Boys are back and on drugs" , The Globe and Mail, July 12, 2010. Later in 2010, she was with Paul Dinello in the "Mummified Hand" episode of the Discovery/Science Channel show Oddities. In 2011, she appeared in a series of commercials for Downy (Lenor UK) Unstoppables, a fabric softener product. Grey Global Group designed the commercials as "kicking the old 'mom' image with spots featuring 'laundry expert' (and accomplished lifestyle guru) Amy Sedaris". In 2013, she replaced Kristen Schaal as the sex-crazed sister Hurshe Heartshe, in the Adult Swim comedy series The Heart, She Holler. That same year, Sedaris appeared in eight episodes of Amazon's Alpha House, a political comedy series written by Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau. Sedaris played Louise Laffer, the Mormon wife of Utah Senator Louis Laffer, who lives with three other Republican senators in a town house on Capitol Hill. Since 2015, she has portrayed Mimi Kanasis on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Her 2016 projects include an appearance on Horace and Pete, as a character named Mara looking for a job at Horace and Pete's. She co-starred with Chris Elliott on the Sony Crackle series Thanksgiving. Voice Sedaris has voiced commericals for the discount hair salon chain Supercuts, and was WordGirl character Miss Davis for two seasons. She also voiced the Bandit Princess in Adventure Time. She narrated the PBS special Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, a six-hour documentary on comedians and comedy in American history. Since 2014, she has provided the voice for Princess Carolyn on the Netflix original show BoJack Horseman, a role which some critics consider her best work. She voiced Cinderella in Shrek the Third and reprised her role in Shrek Forever After. She participated in seasons one and two of the podcast Homecoming as Audrey Temple.http://feeds.gimletmedia.com/homecomingshow Her most recent voice work is for Guinea Fowl in The Lion King (2019).'Lion King' Adds Amy Sedaris in Original Voice Role (EXCLUSIVE) Film Sedaris has had small roles in a number of films, including Elf, School of Rock, Maid in Manhattan, Bewitched, Snow Angels, Full Grown Men, Old Dogs, Shrek the Third, and Chicken Little. Her first lead film role was the 2006 film adaptation of Strangers with Candy. She also had a large role in the comedy The Best and the Brightest. In 2008, Sedaris starred as principal Abby Hofman in Nickelodeon TV's Gym Teacher: The Movie, directed by her Strangers with Candy co-star Paul Dinello. Writing Sedaris co-authored the text-and-picture novel Wigfield with Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert, published in 2003. She has contributed articles to The Believer magazine since 2005. Her guide to entertaining, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 12 weeks after its initial publication in 2006. Her book, Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People! (2010), included a cover that can be easily made into a hat, as David Letterman demonstrated during her appearance on his Late Show in October 2010. Theater/Playwrighting Amy has co-written several plays with her brother David, credited only as "The Talent Family": Stump the Host (1993), Stitches (1994), One Woman Shoe (1995), Incident at Cobblers Knob (1997) and The Little Frieda Mysteries. She also co-authored the play The Book of Liz with him, which has been produced at regional theaters as No Name Players. She played a role as the stage manager in Paul Rudnick's play The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Miscellaneous In support of PETA's anti-fur campaign, Sedaris appeared as her Strangers with Candy character in an ad that reads, "When you wear fur, people laugh at you, not with you.""Amy Sedaris," Los Angeles Times, accessed 6 March 2012. She was the emcee for Microsoft's 2010 annual employee meeting in Seattle, Washington on September 28, 2010. Personal life Sedaris ran a cupcake and cheeseball business, Dusty Food Cupcakes, out of her home kitchen, but has since ceased doing so. 'Dusty' was the name of her pet rabbit.[http://www.tvguide.com/news/Amy-Sedaris-Sells-40185.aspx "Amy Sedaris Sells Movie Candy"], TV Guide, Retrieved 2011-06-26."And How Was Your Summer, Amy Sedaris?" , The Awl, Retrieved 2014-01-28. Sedaris was in an eight-year relationship with actor/writer Paul Dinello. After their breakup, they remain close friends, and Sedaris is godmother to his two children. Sedaris has stated in several interviews that she has never desired to marry nor have children. Filmography Film Television Video games Podcast Bibliography * Sedaris, Colbert, Dinello. Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) * I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence (Warner Books, October 16, 2006) * Sedaris & Dinello. Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People (Grand Central Publishing, November 2, 2010) References External links * Official website * * NPR's Weekend Edition interview with Amy Sedaris * November 2010 interview with Amy Sedaris about Simple Times: Crafts For Poor People Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses from New York (state) Category:Actresses from North Carolina Category:American film actresses Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American television writers Category:American voice actresses Category:Writers from Binghamton, New York Category:People from Greenwich Village Category:Actors from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:American women comedians Category:Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States Category:Women television writers Category:Novelists from New York (state) Category:Writers from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:American writers of Greek descent Category:21st-century American novelists Category:21st-century American women writers Category:American women novelists Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:Actresses of Greek descent Category:Jesse O. Sanderson High School alumni Category:Comedians from North Carolina Category:Comedians from New York (state) Category:Novelists from North Carolina Category:Actors from Binghamton, New York Category:Screenwriters from New York (state) Category:21st-century American comedians